


Fluent 1Shots - I do it for you

by KiltedGuy



Series: Fluent Oneshots [4]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Fox Song, Internet Famous, Karaoke, clawhauser ships it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-03 18:23:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11537904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiltedGuy/pseuds/KiltedGuy
Summary: After their last impromptu concert had, finally, died down, the pair have been ambushed by a spotted enthusiast.It really is hard to say no to that face...





	Fluent 1Shots - I do it for you

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, it's been a while... sorry about that.
> 
> Seems like every time I get the drive to start writing again something kicks it out from under me.
> 
> As for Shackled, I know a lot of you have been asking about that. I'm seriously considering writing a condensed chapter just explaining what I had planned, because honestly, by now after trying to put ideas onto page so many times I just don't have the will to carry on with it.
> 
> Thoughts would be appreciated.

It had been a crazy few weeks to put it mildly. Nick had spat a few choice words the morning after their get together at the bar after hours when the comments, emails and phone calls came pouring in. Some congratulatory, others bordering on physically threatening and many, many more besides blatantly asking, "When's your next one?".

Nick very loudly threatened whomever recorded their not-so-private moment together quite descriptively as they came in from another patrol, their car, once more, pelted with various rotten groceries and even a spray painted slur on the side. It was only the look of sheer guilt and shame on Benjamin's face that kept Judy from pointing out the obvious culprit to an outraged and pacing fox.

But fame was fickle, especially in such a large a city as Zootopia. The number of views per day dropped, the news stations and papers leapt on the next craze or scandal, and even the poorly spelt messages left in their inbox and on their vehicles had eventually lost their bite. The world moved on. 

So when an excited Clawhauser , subtly avoiding looking at Nick's rage filled face, managed to trap them in the records room after a shift one day, Judy could hardly believe he even has the "stones" as Nick so delicately put it, to ask to record them singing.

Again.

\--------------------

 "Look, I know it kind of... backfired when I posted that video..."

**"Rotten Eggs."**

"And, and it was wrong of me not to admit that it was me...

**"Fermenting Tomatoes."**

"But interpecies couples hardly get any good press, and you two clicked together so well, I just thought it would... you know, help the cause..."

**"Roach Larvae."**

"And if I had known you two were still, well... in the closet, I wouldn't have... uh... J-Judy? What, uh... what is Nick muttering?"

**"Watch your doughnuts big boy, I have bakers who owe me favours."**

Judy sighed and gave the quietly muttering fox a sharp nudge with her elbow, followed by a pat on the hip. Glancing down, he sighed and obeyed the wordless request, fur smoothing back down as he willed himself to relax. Giving him a brief smile, Matron Hopps rounded on the Cheetah, taking a faint hint of satisfaction as he flinched back a little.

"It's fine, ignore him. But Ben... we've just gotten over this whole mess from the last time we... sang. Why would you ever think we would do that again, especially in front of a camera?"

Instantly the feline pulled his phone out and, after tapping the screen a few times, held it out to the pair, Nick raising his sunglasses as he mentally cursed his curiosity.

"Interspecies Support Group?"

Clawhauser puffed up his chest slightly, giving them a toothy grin.

"Yeah, I manage the local chapter. Helping others learn about what it means to be interspecies, how to explain it to friends, family... we even sponsor a small halfway house for those whose family don't take it too well."

This time the glasses came off totally, fox and rabbit staring at the cheetah in a new light. Curiously, Judy began to tap and swipe at the screen; photos of couples, support phone numbers and more passing by her eyes. Comments from dozens of mammals who had needed the help Clawhauser and his website numbered easily into the thousands, and not a small amount of them, mostly the anonymous ones, mentioned how they had been inspired by the Fox and Rabbit duet that took pride of place at the top of the website. How they gave them the courage to speak up, take that risk. Some had suffered for it, but they always felt better being honest with themselves afterwards.

Taking the offered phone back, Ben swiped a few times, holding it out. Various saved video thumbnails scrolled past the screen, most of them involving two or more mammals engaging in various acts. A rabbit shyly pacing around a sheep, a pair of Buck deer mock jousting as a mare stood to the side, a seal inflating a...

Blinking at the image a few times, Judy closed her eyes and shook her head and returned the phone, adamant that she didn't want to know.

"Theres also been hundreds of couples bringing back some of the old ways too. You know, like a culture exchange or something."

He glanced at Judy's ears, risking a small grin.

"But as usual, you two are ahead of the curve... I'll be honest guys, if we got more support from people like you, we'd help a lot of scared young mammals out there..."

Nick suppressed a sigh as he watched his bunny's eyes light up. Suggest she could make the world better and off she went. Calmly, he took a step forward, brushing his tail over Judy's arm as he folded his own.

"Thats great and all Spots, but why singing? Why not an interview or something?"

The cheetah shrugged, but years of hustling experience made something in the dark recesses of his mind shriek in terror. His grin widened, and he would swear blind there was something, well, predatory in their gentle feline' features.

"Well, foxes sing at their intended mates, don't they?"

\--------------

Clawhauser honestly felt a bit bad about that, watching Judy's leg go about ten miles a minute as she stomped the pavement into submission. Nick's attention was swiftly derailed from demanding how Clawhauser learnt that (and no, seriously, we've never let anyone know that, ever) to his now peeved Matron, and swiftly he thumbed in the memorised digits, twisting to hide the conversation.

"I don't think we have to worry about Nick asking... that was cruel."

The sharp bark of laughter caused him to roll his eyes and sigh, checking if the pair were still yelling.

_"Sis is too soft on him sometimes. If someone doesn't douse his flame from time to time he'll get burnt. So, you got my Payment?"_

The cheetah pursed his lips, turning his back on the now slumping fox and victorious bunny, sighing.

"Fine... sending now."

He disconnected and thumbed a few files into a text, sending it away with a flick of his thumb. Barely a few seconds later, a reply popped up.

_Damn boy, think I just cheated you. He  cool with modelling and shit? This ain't my place to say, but if you two ever consider spicing things up with a thre-_

The text message was quickly banished to some deep, dank folder in his phone's memory, trying to ignore the thoughts and images that appeared unbidden behind his eyes, sighing. The things he did for good old UMAS WildeHopps...

\---------------

 "It's a relic from when we screamed at our potential mates fluff... it's ancient history... and embarrassing!"

The Foot of Doom continued drumming a hole into the road. Her back was turned, and every time he tried to catch her eye she would shuffle round, avoiding his gaze and, most dangerous of all, his smile.

"But some still do it right?"

"Only the oldest, or the old Traditions buffs. It's not really required these days."

Nick mentally winced as the foot dropped and stayed dropped, amethyst eyes suddenly boring into his own. Bracing himself for impact, he back-pedalled when instead of the tirade he had expected Judy kind of... slumped down, like a severed puppet.

"I... I know it's... stupid and selfish, but... I've only gotten this far on tradition. Sometimes I feel like if I didn't have all this backing me up..."

She trailed off and made no attempt to escape the arms wrapping round her from behind, feeling nick apply a brief mark to the back of her head.

"I get you... sometimes I think your dad's waiting for me to screw up some bunny thing so he can get me away from you."

His hand reached down to entwine his fingers in her own, swallowing a sudden lump in his throat. He knew it was coming. At this point it was inevitable. His Doe needed a refresher dose of affection and the conniving cheetah had managed to emotionally blackmail them both into it.

"You're going to have to explain that while shuffling in a circle thing afterwards Carrots. Although that does make a few odd patrols make sense..."

She gave a half grin at the teasing tone in his voice, squeezing his fingers back firmly.

"No one says how big the circle has to be.... so you're..?"

He pulled back, holding her paw firmly in his own as Clawhauser came back now that the coast was clear, whopping her rear with his tail.

"So long as I pick the song... no offence to him, but our little activist feline here knows scat all about foxes... try and find out where he learnt the singing from, will you babe?"

The pair slipped their game faces on, Judy squeezing again, silently agreeing to his request before they pulled apart, Nick slinging an arm across as much of Benjamin's shoulders as he could reach, his grin just a little too wide.

"Okay spots, you want this, then I'm going to need a venue, equipment, new clothes..."

\-----------

He actually had a venue. The small studio usually saw use for weekly support group meetings and larger pride event planning, and Nick could see how well maintained the building was despite the low rent and neighbourhood. The perky cheetah was currently setting up a few cameras on loan by a group member, leaving an exasperated Fox to toy with his tie as he waited.

His eyes slid over to Judy as she slowly walked along the length of the room, looking at photos, reading the posters and flicking her tail whenever she found mention of herself, or Nick. It had been twitching more and more as she sauntered along, until sighing out a soft "cheese and crackers" as she finally reached the screen shot of their karaoke adventure, blown up and several motivational captions beneath it. There was no doubt that their cheetah had been responsible for that one.

She half turned to talk before catching Nick's smirking face watching her, giving a short blush that was quickly shoved aside.

"How many members do you have?"

Benjamin, still struggling with the camera  not balancing properly on its tripod stand, gave a non commital hum, pausing to tap his chin thoughtfully.

"Between 150-160 regulars... another couple dozen who drop in and out when they need that quick boost of camaraderie, and I cannot count how many show up for one meeting or two, just to get some information."

He sighed and gave up on the stand, grabbing a handful of pamphlets to prop up the short leg.

"Its a shame really... most of the drop in/drop outers are still struggling to accept it. And not a small number of the weekly members are married or courting their own species without any real enthusiasm."

He tapped the camera a few times, then nodded contently as it only barely wobbled. Nick watched as Judy started to bite at her lip, wordlessly gesturing for her to come over.

"That's terrible..."

She pressed against Nick and tightly gripped the waistband of his pants, as though she was expecting someone tonwrench them apart at any time, nose twitching as she spoke. Nick rested his palm on her shoulder and squeezed, silently promising he wasn't going anywhere.

"They're just afraid... sometimes friends or... family don't really take it that well."

Neither remarked at the Cheetah's slumped shoulders or suddenly limp tail, unsure what to say before seemed to shake the mental cobwebs loose and clapped his hands firmly.

"Okay, we're just about ready here. You good to go Nick?"

He gave Clawhauser one of the small, soft smiles he tended to reserve for Judy and sometimes Finnick, shaking down his body and loosening up.

"Sure thing Spots. But maybe you could satisfy my curiosity... who is this lover boy of yours, hmm?"

The cheetah outright blushed and giggled a little, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I shouldn't say, he's not as... open as I am. Might cost him, us, our jobs. But he and his family are very sweet and accepting... even if they do send me every vegetarian recipe they can get their hooves on..."

He waved a paw at the two suddenly smirking mammals, scowling.

"Not a word. Now, you have something in mind? Judy, I'd appreciate it if you could write the caption translations afterwards..."

\-----------

The video went online 11am sharp.

First view was at 11:37.

The hundredth at 12.03.

From there, it exploded onto social media sites around the continent, quickly becoming one of the most trended video of the day...

\------------

The video, after finally buffering through local traffic, finally started to play, displaying one of the most well known foxes in Zootopia, kneeling on an old yoga mat. The green Hawaiian shirt clashed horribly with the bright orange tie he wore, but there was no mistaking the symbolism involved. Sitting in front of him on an old plastic chair, nervous but smiling sincerely, was the Judy Hopps herself. Ears flushing a little at the quick wink Nick threw her, the image zoomed in a little jerkily, focusing solely on the fox.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and...

  
**Look into my eyes...**  
**You will see...**  
**What you mean to me.**

Two sets of muted squeals were briefly heard as the Fox stood, rising up to his full height, half opening his eyes and focusing on the sitting bunny just out of view.

  
**Search your heart...**  
**Search your soul...**  
**And when you find me there, you'll search no more.**

Walking backwards until he reached the wall, he learnt coincidentally next to an old "Love is Love" poster promoting families of all types, the camera dutifully following.

 **Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.**  
**You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for!**  
**You know it's true...**  
**Everything I do,**  
**I do it for you...**

Fingers trailed over photos and newspaper clippings, some showing happy, mixed couples and others obvious prejudice and occasionally reports of violence. Twisting, he glared into the camera with laser like focus, voice rising and falling in time with his slow steps.

 **Look into your heart,**  
**You will find...**  
**There's nothin' there to hide.**

Quicker than most mammals would have expected, Nick dropped to his knees, reaching out to gently, reverently grasp a grey paw, pulling it closer and pressing his forehead against the back of it, eyes closing, his voice sounding almost pleading.

 **Take me as I am,**  
**Take my life...**  
**I would give it all, I would sacrifice...**

The paws guided the grey down the side of his snout and beneath his chin, firmly pressing it against his throat, the fire in his eyes conveying emotion that would easily transcend the language barrier.

 **Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for.**  
**I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more...**

His paws fell away, leaving his throats defenceless, in the grip of another. No matter the species, allowing someone to hold your throat, the pulse of your life beating under their fingers, easily sniffed out if they simply flex a few muscles... The level of trust had to be absolute.

  
**You know it's true.**  
**Everything I do.**  
**I do it for you.**

Instead of gripping, the paw began to stroke, softly, tenderly, another reaching out to slide around the back of his head in an embrace. With a grin, Nick reached out and pulled Judy into the shot, voice rising even as he started rubbing his cheek across the giggling, blushing bunny's body.

 **There's no love.**  
**Like your love...**  
**And no other...**  
**Could give more love...**  
**There's nowhere!**  
**Unless you're there!**  
**All the time,**  
**All the way, yeah!**

The outside world seemed to not exist for the pair, Judy pulling his head tight against her chest, the fox muffled slightly as he reached up, holding her upper back possessively. 

**Look into your heart, baby...**

**Oh you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for...**

Pulling back and standing, Nick reached down, supporting his Matron's hips as they slowly swayed against each other, eyes closed.

  
**I can't help it there's nothin' I want more.**  
**Yeah, I would fight for you.**  
**I'd lie for you.**  
**Walk the wire for you.**

Nick smiled as he opened his eyes, gently drawing Judy closer to his snout.

**Yeah, I'd die for you....**

**You know it's true...**  
**Everything I do...**  
**Oh...**  
**I do it for you...**

The pair's snouts met, slotting together like two shards of a whole, shamelessly making out despite the camera and a feline squealing behind the camera as the image faded to black...

 

_Replay?_

 

\--------------

"Look! A million views already, and it's barely two hours!"

Clawhuser giggled as he squirmed up against his partner, rolling his eyes at the less than enthusiastic grunt. Flicking his phone back to the home screen and setting it down, he twisted onto his side, hand starting to rub up and down the firm abs.

"You're not jealous I spent the day with those two are you?"

The other occupant of the bed knew without doubt, without looking up from his book, that the cheetah was grinning teasingly, delicately turning a page.

"Not in the slightest. I don't care. At all."

The cheetah shrugged and sighed theatrically, rolling back over.

"Oh, okay then. I mean, I was going to do that purring thing you like, but if you  _don't care_..."

He smirked to himself as he heard the book hastily slammed shut and tossed onto the bedside table, holding back a purr as a broad, muscled arm reached across his hip and stomach.

"Let's not be too hasty here Kitten..."

It was far toobeasy... Sighing happily as flat teeth started to nibble playfully at his shoulder, he twisted round and pressed into his partner's embrace.


End file.
